well i just got the clue. Maybe the 911 system isn't working that well either. because obviously these people didn't call the cops, they called 911. So, when the operator asks, "police, fire, or medical"? , why is that decision of whom to call, left to some rube who can dial 3 digits successfully? idiots call 911 too, not just smart people. So maybe there should be some better training, decision making and choosing done by 911 operators about whom to send to the scene. Or, maybe 2 departments should be sent. Or, maybe Portland like some other areas, should have a special number that is well publicized and put into the phone book front cover: a number for mental health emergencies that goes to a staff that does only this kind of intervention. With ambulances and orderlies and straightjackets, not guns and dogs. With intelligent trained ability to defuse a volatile or psychotic episode. Why isn't this done in Portland already? it is done in certain other places not that far away.

I as an educated Mexican male have been spit upon by right wing haters. I have been told to get out of their country. I have been pulled over only to be let go after realizing I mean no one any harm and have never committed a crime. My father still has memories of being told to go eat somewhere else because of his skin color. So many white males mainly simply do not want to admit to their kinds wrong doing. This is what will never let the issue die. The majority of republicans voted against civil rights this has to be remembered. I work for a major company in Portland there are no blacks and one other Hispanic aside from myself. This is among 200 employees and some are saying racism is dead. Their ignorance keeps this issue from dying.

Police officers have a very stressful job and are given little information when they are dispatched to a call. what the media tells people is the whole story (most of which the officer may not have known at the time when he had to make a decision). Officers are given little information and have to make a decision in seconds based on this information. You can pull the race card about any situation, but it's not just African American people who are being shot by the police. Granted there are some "bad" police officers out there, they are not all bad and racist ass holes. it is incorrect to generalize police officers because there are many out there that enjoy helping people and who have never even pulled their gun on anyone. Although there are some unfortunate events that result from officers shooting people, it is not ok to say that they target and only shoot African American people. Police Officers are people who should be called in a time of emergency. This article is only examining what the media shows you... I come from a family with many police officers in it and know for a fact that they are good people who aim to help others and do the best job that they can given the little information they receive at the time of the call. Nobody can understand the job of a police officer unless you are one yourself or know one personally. Articles like this make me sick. When you are sick and dying in North Portland you still won't call the Police? Yeah, right.

The facts of the matter are these: these murders and jailings of our people will continue to happen all across the country...until they are stopped. The police are going to continue to slaughter African-Americans, and the U.S. government along with the citizenry at large are going to continue their unconditional support for this slow-motion genocide...until they are forcibly stopped. As shown on this page, racists will continue to support and excuse this butchery all day every day...until they are stopped. We have the power to organize and stop them, but we don't, because we are too afraid. Once, long ago, a very wise man once asked, "Is life so dear, or is peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" Sadly enough, for many today it is. But for how long?

I'd just like to say that it's not just black people who are dying at the hands of Portland Police, and if you'd please mention the other innocent people who've also been murdered by the cops here, it would do a lot to bring us together, rather than alienating us from each other with the concept of this being an "African American" problem exclusively. This is a problem of shoot first, ask questions later, and it affects several layers of the community which we are all a part of. If you have no money, no assets, no land, no credit, THEN you are at risk of being abused and possibly killed by the police. Native Americans, Immigrants, Poor people of any race or religion. Don't forget, police officers are a double edged sword, and sure I've seen heroes from several different departments do the job to the best of their ability. However, most of the time, the gun is in the hand of a person who managed to qualify for police work based on job skills alone, with the emotional state and the compassion of the officer never considered as part of serving and protecting. Serve and protect is a lie invented to get the good god fearin' nation behind the gang that is the national police force. They are mostly here just to process you, they aren't getting paid well for what they do usually, and most of the time they are indoctrinated in callous treatment of human beings as a means of coping with the stress of the job. I called just the other night for some drunk fellow who fell down in the street, because he laid there calling out "help me" over and over, so I thought hey call the police and they'll get this guy to the hospital. But when they showed up, they looked angry that I was wasting their time, and they never lifted a finger to help the poor man, who was coughing up blood, until the arrival of the ambulance some time later. Then they threw him onto a gurney and hauled him away like the week's trash, and I worried about him ever since. So I agree, it's probably best most of the time to not call.

I believe this article to be nothing more than IRRESPONSIBLE REPORTING! I'd like to see how you would have handled the situation. If you don't do the job, SHUT UP! White folks burned the race card long ago, for the most part. It's blacks that keep it fresh. You may call it racial profiling, all the police are doing is FOLLOWING STATISTICS! Tell me I'm wrong.

I'd *love* to see how CARA or CAHOOTS would have handled this "mental health call" -- a potential hostage situation involving a gun. Add a couple of extra hostages to the mix and see how that turns out. C'mon people - you're smarter than this. And if you're not, do just as this article says and don't call - you'll be easier to mop up that way and you won't risk anyone else's lives in the process.

You are right, the police shouldn't respond to a male who reportedly had a gun and was threatning to kill himself and possibly little children and his girlfriend. You are right, police shouldn't respond to a male who had an extensive police record including domestic violence against his girlfriend. What do you think would have happened had the police not responded? Maybe he would have killed himself, then people would be up in arms about the police not responding. What if he killed one of those small children? You would be singing a whole different tune wouldn't you? What would be said when a black cop shoots a white suspect? I'll tell you......nothing would be said, Jesse Jackson would not be anywhere to be found. Just like a commenter already said, Cambell didn't get shot because he was black, black people don't get arrested because they are black. There are white people that get arrested all the time, but nobody gets up in arms about that....it is reverse discrimination pure and simple.

What happen to Aaron Campbell, James Chasse, and others like them obviously show us the inherent problem with asking a militarized force to contain crisis situations rather than creating resources that deal with the underlying causes of these issues or even resources that are better trained and not armed with weapons to deal with these situations. Many community alternatives already exist across the United States. Two specifically in the northwest are Cahoots in Eugene and CARA in Seattle, WA. In Eugene, when you call 911, if someone is having a mental health crisis of any kind, Cahoots is dispatched instead of the police. Cahoots is a group people trained as to intervene in crisis situations funded through the city. If Portland had similar resources, Aaron Campbell and James Chasse would still be living today. The Scanner is right. We would do much better to use the funding of the police towards actually dealing with the causes of crisis's such as providing decent jobs, mental health, drug abuse, and domestic violence services that are culturally appropriate and don't pathologize or stigmatize people, and schools that actually engage our children rather than making them fit into standarized testing boxes.

I feel that one of the reasons people are so confused by many police actions is because they have the gross misconception that the police are "brave". They certainly are not brave men and women from what I have seen and heard. If any of the police responding to an incident perceive even the most miniscule chance that they or anyone else might be threatened in any way, they are considered completely justified in using deadly force. This perceived "threat" is completely at the discression of the officer initiating the "execution". I use the term "execution" as I know officers only shoot to kill. And since all a grand jury has to hear is that the officer perceived himself or someone else to possibly be threatened, even though this perception may be completely mistaken, the officer is justified in using deadly force. The misconception that the police are brave, like those portrayed on television and in movies, is just that. No Portland police officer is willing to risk their life even in the slightest by shooting a possible threat in a non-lethal manner such as in the leg from a great and safe distance with a sniper rifle. This will continue until the police face negative consequences of such actions. Additionally, there is also the misconception that the police are honest. The first time I tried to defend myself in traffic court only to hear the police officer lie about the circumstances of my alleged infraction, I was dumbfounded as I myself did not expect an officer to lie. There was nothing else I could do but watch as he grinned, and lied to the judge and I had to say in response that if the officer was willing to lie I had no defense. To protect themselves all police lie as well. So even if there was no perceived threat, the police officer is permitted to murder at will.

Yeah, this is something I've known to be true for a long time. The fact that the police are fundamentally destructive to our communities is so apparent that it's almost not worth talking about. Well, maybe not, haha, but you know what I mean. What I'm personally more interested is: How SHOULD we act to keep our communities safe? We very clearly shouldn't trust the police, so what do we do instead? The first premise that needs to be accepted, I think, is that it's up to us. You and me. It's our responsibility to keep each other safe. However, it's NOT our responsibility to rat each other out to the cops. We're not trying to throw each other in prison (or worse, knowing Portland cops). The point of watching out for each other is safety, not knee jerk "community policing". Safety is best achieved by creating a culture in which each individual community can anticipate, identify, and respond to crime. I suppose the first step in achieving this is actually CREATING community. Talking to, hanging out with, and being there for you neighbors. Supporting your neighbors. Creating an understanding that if someone's in danger, that you've got their back, and they've got yours. Okay, I have a ton more thoughts, but I'm too tired right now.

I'm white and I won't call the police. I know someone whose parents got into a fight when she was 15 and she was the one arrested because she was involved, neither parent was arrested. There was also a situation where a couple were arguing and the nosy neighbor called 911, there was absolutely no physical altercation, but the sheriffs said they had to arrest someone so the male-70 years old volunteered to go. The judge of course threw it out. Not just Portland, but Vancouver, too have un-knowledgeable, sheriffs and police running around town serving and protecting themselves, not the community. If you have to ASK how do you solve your own problems without the police, then don't take the advise and start digging yourself a 6 ft grave prior to calling 911. :-) Seriously, I know there's quite a few stupid people, but it sure comes out on line just how bad stupidity is!!!

Thank you for writing this, it is probably the most sober, responsible statement a media outlet has made on the recent police abuses. If you are a person of color, disabled, young, an immigrant, poor, non-English speaking, a political dissenter, or an everyday person, the police and law enforcement should not be sought out if you want justice or protection. They are simply unaccountable for the misjudgement, abuse, and violence they cause. We must build community-based methods of addressing conflict, whether it be neighborhood solidarity, alternative dispute resolution, or other means. No one can guarantee our community the right to be free from crime, that is a social ill we must all tackle in various ways. But we should have the right to be free from the crimes of the police. We should not have to pay taxes year in and year out just to be shot by the very guns we have been paying for. These sad deaths only highlight the authoritarian and violent methods the PPB and law enforcement everywhere use on a day to day basis. For every death, there are several beatings, dozens of tazings, hundreds of threats, thousands of instances of intimidation. Ever since the police union rallied downtown, bullying their way to immunity from justice and freedom to kill, I realized that no matter how nice an individual police officer can be, the badge, the gun, the nightstick simply give too much power to an individual.

Please don't call. Then you have one more thing to complain about. Wow. Unbelievable.

I think many Portland police officers would agree with you and your article. I'm sure they too are tired of dealing with your garbage as a community and would love to not have to respond to your calls. If your community is indeed responsible for such an overwhelmingly disproportionate amount of crime and drain on police services, then by all means STOP CALLING! May be then, the people who actually pay the majority of taxes that fund the police bureau, will get the services that they pay for.

Bravo!

Jesse Jackson is an idiot.

you article is very irresponsblie how many poeple well die or get hurt or be intmidated by poeple that at just plain mean.

"Having an Emergency? Don’t Call the Police" This is the most irresponsible reporting I have ever seen in any media ever!

The "thinking twice" concept is a lovely thought but...How about thinking twice BEFORE you have guns in the house for a disturbed person to threaten himself or your family members and/or the gawking gatherers. How about working to change the mentality that guns are the great equalizers? Or just let things take their natural course...that way when someone gets shot, you can just bypass the police by placing a call directly to the undertaker. And be sure to call the very Rev. Al Sharpton, call ole' Jesse Jackson. They adore a good photo op. They will protect you and keep you and your family safe from harm, right? Oh, yeah, how about the recent slaughter of several white police officers in WA, with a black man as the killer? Did the families all whine that they were systematically being targeted because of their race? Blame the police for taking over when YOU call to report a disturbed man with a gun...what did you want them to do, bring a pea shooter? They have to quell the situation that they will be blamed for mishandling, no matter what the outcome. Hell if they do, hell if they don't! Take some personal responsibility and get rid of the guns in your community, teach personal responsibility to your kids, call your pastor or a counselor when your loved one needs a calming force. That's where you need to think twice or more...

DA Shrunk is not your friend, and the sooner you learn that, the better. I see some pretty crappy comments here, way to be human people. I just wanted to chime-in with a word of reassurance. I am a white male, and I am also born and raised here in Oregon. I have lived my life in abject poverty and I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt I have faced as much, or more, harassment, and out-right threat from the PPB and the MCSO, as any one alive. Poor whites have it as rough with the police here, and presumably for different reasons I suppose, as anybody does. In my opinion it is not the color of ones' skin that is the factor, but their station within a classist society. I'm sure that to a lower-middle class police officer, or person in a similar position of authority, I represent a part of themselves they'd just as soon not know exist. So, most of all, it's an issue of shame. I believe when I encounter police that they view me as somehow beneath them and because of my poverty, become insecure with their own station. As if I were giving white-people a bad name by being poor, and fairly illiterate and ignorant. Suffice it to say, the resentment is palpable. That's with white cops, would you care to guess how black and Mexican cops treat me? This country has been busily reestablishing the same BS class structure that many of our ancestors lived under in Europe four centuries ago. This human-oddity is blind to race and gender and only victimizes the poor. I know it's hard to believe, but there is plenty of poor to go around, and fighting with other poor people over the color of everybody's skin is only serving to keep our enemy warm and snug in a soft bed. My heart aches for the Campbell family, I wish there were something I could do.

Great, everyone can start shooting at each other and stop blaming the police for the very few times they kill someone! Do you know how many more shootings we would have if we all "handled it ourselves??" Nice job Scanner!

It's funny how African Americans don't like to be typecast or stereotyped, but they are quick to do it to others. If people don't want to be singled out for their color, race, sex, etc. then quit whining. It's ironic how everytime a person of color is arrested or confronted it's because they are black. Do you know how many white people also get in trouble with the law. I have NEVER heard anyone whining about being arrested because they were white. Take responsibility for your own actions people!!! Quit blaming it on color!!!! Get over it!

Are you freaking kidding me? Who prints this trash?

Excellent job of using inflammatory rhetoric. You should elaborate on how we all should go about "solving our own problems". What exactly do you mean by that?

Good idea, take each other out and stop wasting our tax $$.

They were all killed by police AND many of them were drug dealing felons. Boo "F"ing Hoo.

I have always heard that Portland is very similar to Seattle. Is Portland similar to Seattle in the respect that black males make up only about 3% of Seattle's population but over half of all murders in Seattle are committed by black males every year? Just wondering. INDISPUTABLE FACT: At least 94% of the roughly 8,000 blacks who are murdered in the USA every year are murdered by another black. Why doesn't Jesse Jackscoon ever talk about that?

When is the rally Wednesday?

The Asians remark was racist. Model minority stereotypes are just as harmful as other stereotypes.

im white and i hate the police the police dont know how too handale how to get in a house in north portland and thay had like 20 cops with guns and a cop dog thay will be hearing from me and im white and pissed off at the police

When a 911 call comes in saying a man has a gun that changes it from a "welfare check". This is not a black/white thing. Many white people have been killed by the cops under similar circumstances. This is a man with a gun thing. It will always end badly when you pick up a gun and start acting crazy.

Who wrote this ?????

You're an idiot.

I am sickened by this series of events, and the latest killing by the Portland police officer. You are truly correct in not trusting the Portland police in being able to handle a situation like this without prejudice. I think communities, of all races, need to band together and show a united front in opposition of letting the police get away with this. I truly believe that the Grand Jury did not do justice in this situation, and in the cases of others. Why is it that so many are being killed. Why do the police shoot someone more easily because of the color of their skin or the way they dress? It's appalling. Band together people. Support each other.

Bravo for your article! What do I think? I cannot agree more. I live in Clark County in a small rural community. Yes, I'm white and female. Police are insensitive to the mentally ill and are not fully trained to handle people who have an acute mental health issue or a longstanding one. This tragic incident should never, ever have happened. The Portland Police Department will dearly pay monetarily for this but never enough for the death of this young man. My condolences to the family of Aaron Campbell.

This comment does not seem to fit their motto. "Challenging people to shape a better future." How is this done, when you say don't call the police.? I feel this is double standard for them, especially now that have jessie jackson to come to town to help fight for them. How much did it cost to have him here. Thers is problem in all cities regarding police. They think the own a badge they are higher than man. But it has been that way since the cowboy days. It is not just racial thing, The value of life, respect, to each other is gone.

What do I think? I think this article is a joke. Your " community" needs to stop blaming everyone else for all of the stupid things that your " community" does. Grow up!!!!!!!!!!

I think we'd be far better off not calling the police for domestic violence: There have been several incidents in the past where a neighbor has called in, the people involved have refused police help, the police then tased both parties, hauled them both off to jail, and then juries have given settlements to the victims because the police were out of line. The only thing that I see the police as useful for are insurance related reasons: If your house is robbed and you want money from your insurance company, you need to file a police report.

If the people mentioned above had treated the police with respect and listened to commands they may have had a different outcome. We don't know how many times the police have had to deal with those people and what instances they dealt with them. Maybe some of them were known to carry weapons? Maybe they were threatening the police? Were we there? Instead of blaming the police, how about we take responsibility for our own actions. Did the police kill these people because they were being respectful and listening to commands? Until you have had to strap a gun on to do your job because people have such disrespect for authority (until they need help) don't judge the police. It is not a race issue. I believe it is a people issue. We all need to show some common sense and make sure that we show each other respect so that others respect us.

Dear Skanner, What you say is a good.But let be more watchful when the police is called in a situation when blacks or anyone else of color is invouled.See as a black citizen it a double standard,they don't have to raise taxes,just enforce the laws in place and apply them equally.Then you would see a calm in this city.REMEMBER IF YOU SEE WRONG OR RACISM RELAY IT TO EACH OTHER,START GREETING EACH OTHER OR LEAST ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR PRESENCE AND PARENTS[BLACKS] QUIT ACTING LIKE IDIOTS AND PUT YOUR FOOT IN OUR CHILDREN BEHINDS.TELL THEM THAT YES THIS IS A GOOD CITY,BUT IT ISN'T PROGRESSIVE,LIBERAL,AND AS HIP,CREATIVE AS A SNOWBALL IN HELL.aND SPEAK UP WHEN YOU HEAR A IGNORAOUS SPEWING GARBAGE OUT THEIR SEWERHOLES.AND ASK QUESTIONS FOR INSTANCE IF LAST THURSDAY HAD BEEN A BLACK EVENT AND FOLKS HAD START THROWING BEER BOTTLES ETS.HOW MANY BLACKS WOULD HAVE DIED IF THE POLICE HAD FIRED ON THEM?THAT DAY.REMEMBER IT BETTER TO KEEP THE ENEMY CLOSE AND IN FRONT OF YOU.AND REPORT THE POLICE EVERY TIME THEY DO SOMETHING STUPID IF YOU ARE WATCHFUL BELIEVE ME THEY'RE KEYSTONE COPS

Youngsters have generally lost faith in the church and have little if any respect for adults these days. The disparity lies within the community where ther are no solid leaders to lead. To lead properly there has to be a common interest. This takes understanding, something lacking in our so called community. People quickly classify, disassociate themselves, classify , condemn, and characterize. First there has to be a true love for self. Not looking outside of self for validation. Next stop looking fault and complaining. Get out of our comfort zone and cry when tragedy reminds of our conditions. Learn to support one another without judgement. Quit being dependent and focus on making contibutions to ourselves. Get life insurance and stop selling yourself short to others, all the while not trusting. You can't rely on those who are out for their own interest and expect them to look out for. That is crazy, but it has been going for too long. Quit talking and crying and do something about it.

If this were a true media outlet, you would not "review" opinions and comments to make sure they suit your needs or views. What a joke.

Hahahaha... I read the Skanner while I'm on the toilet... then I wipe with it.

I have to agree with this 100%. I have had a couple of instances with the police in this town pulling me over and giving me traffic citations that were fabricated. Of course their video equipment was conveniently down those times, so it was my word against the officer. But I have to say, from they way I see the police in this city act, if I were a black man, I probably would have been shot.

I agree, stop wasting the police officers time with your problems. Campbell would have been involved in some crime in the near future(since he was always in trouble) and he would have been off the streets. Its too bad the gang member that Campbell as arrested for shooting did not testify against him. Campbell should have been in jail. Sad situation where he put himself directly into. If he only listened for once in his life and followed direction.

After the Kendra James murder at the hands of PpD it was agreed that the Police were not getting sufficient training.That and other recommendations were made by the grand Jury to the City of Portland.That case as with this one the cop in question was exonerated because he followed policy.Its should be obvious to anyone that can see what policy is.African American,and other minorities BEWARE!!Thats the policy

Many of the lessons we are learning from the Campbell story are not hyperbole. However, your suggestions to refrain from most, if not all police involvement are. We do our community a grave disservice when we instill so much fear in them as to suggest that in cases of domestic violence, home intrusion, or gang-banger harrassement, they should call our community leaders rather than law enforcement. Let's not add stupidity to tragedy.

So easy to make statements about who was wrong and who was right when you were snug and warm back home in your bed. This guy was threatening family members with a gun, he was suicidal and irrational. Much like your article, irrational. The press in this country does nothing but continue the put fear into the public because tragedy sells, plain and simple. I notice there is nothing in your article about what led up to these events, nothing about the "victim" and his history of violence. Once again, the masses will get behind you and your garbage article because they don't know what goes on in the world, and don't care to find out if it doesn't effect them. As for Jesse Jackson...yeah, we hadn't heard from him lately, not surprised he crawled out of the wood work to get some face time. Oh no, another tragedy involving a black man. Maybe black men should start policing themselves, staying and taking care of their children to provide some stability in their lives instead of letting them get raised by strangers, oh wait, that would require them to be upstanding citizens of society. It's much easier to sit back and say "poor me". Get a job, take care of your children, stop blaming everyone else for your problems.

It is time we come out of the churches and take it to the field. Let us arm our bodies with faith and start walking for justice and change. Our outrage needs to be seen across the world not in the safety of the four church walls.

I think the sooner people stop looking at the police as "our friends" the better. But I also think that not calling on the police will not stop police violence/use of force - especially with racial profiling. The community needs an elected independent civilian police review board that hs the authority to investigate incidents of police misconduct and use of force and discipline officers found guilty of violating people's rights. The review board needs to be independent of City Hall and the police department and made up of representatives of targeted groups. That kind of oversight and power to discipline would at least give pause to that trigger finger. --- Jordana Sardo, Freedom Socialist Party, Portland

Well said. Thanks for addressing this tragic incident. We must not be silent on this issue. Thank You thank you thank you.